Will L.A. Rising Be RATM’s Final Show Ever?

We hope it's not true, but the implications of misleading fans to sell tickets is arguably worse...

Vitriolic Los Angeles rap-rock outfit Rage Against The Machine are set to crush noise ordinances with their high-aspiring July 30th music festival L.A. Rising, but fans may want to ensure their presence at the L.A. Coliseum for another reason entirely: it could very well be the final show from Zack De La Rocha & Co. as RATM.

Three-quarters of Rage Against The Machine sat down with KROQ's Kevin & Bean about a myriad of topics, including the vision behind L.A. Rising, and how they might never play another show again. According to the band whose only scheduled show is the L.A. Rising date, “This is actually, probably, the last show we’re going to play.”

The activist-festival event will mark the twentieth anniversary of the band, and include artists with similarly vocal political leanings.

“The one thing that Los Angeles itself does not have is its own festival show," guitarist Tom Morello explained. "And LA Rising is Rage Against The Machine’s show. It’s not like there’s a festival that hires Rage Against The Machine to play a show. This is our show…We wanted to establish something in our hometown, like at Ground Zero at the Coliseum. We’ve got a very special relationship with this city."

Rage lined up their own dream bill which includes Muse and Rise Against, as well as Lauryn Hill, El Gran Silencio and incendiary outspoken rapper Immortal Technique. L.A. Rising is about more than just the music – each artist participating in this historic event wants to raise awareness about the social issues plaguing the insanely overpopulated and increasingly volatile city of Los Angeles. Additionally, a "Re-Education Camp" will be set up at the venue to assist the movement.

“This is our show," Morello continued. "It’s like ages ago when we used to play at a place called the Coconut Teaser–you pick the bands. You know, you’re the headliner and pick the bands on the bill."

So what of bassist Tim Commerford's (repeated) statement that L.A. Rising will be Rage's final show? Though the subject was a source of laughter for the mind-stabbingly irritating wacky morning hosts, the repeated sentiment is certainly cause for concern among fans.

If they're going to go out, though, Rage certainly plans to go out with a bang. “There’s going to be close to a million watts of power," Morello went on. "[We're] a band that’s built for a big room. I mean, a lot of times people will say, ‘Well, you know, I really want to take it back to the theaters because that’s where we feel most comfortable in connection with our fans.’ No, no, no. Bring it. “

One thing's for certain – if this isn't RATM's final performance, their credibility is going to take a serious hit. After years and years of notoriously vague responses to any and all details about the future of the band, to tease a permanent split just to sell tickets to a festival show is unconscionable and manipulatively deceptive to fans – the same fans who stayed loyal through a full decade of inactivity despite a greater need for their firestarter political anthems than ever before.